How do you breathe?

B

Bluewolf

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was practicing pool in a relaxed state, and my APAsl7 hubbie says that I am breathing wrong. He says you are supposed to hold your breath through the shot and follow. Well I turned to him and said if he was comfortable with his breathing that was fine, I breathe fine.

I guess he thinks that since he is a better player, I am doing it wrong.

Well, firstly, it was hard for me to figure out something as natural as breathin and had to shoot and breathe and try to pay attention to it. I think I figured it out though, now whether it is important is another thing, altogether.Well, I do not hold my breath. I let my breath out easily and normally thoughout the shot.

To me this may be seem to be one of those 'paralysis by analysis' questions, but really it is not. I could not 'hold my breath' if I wanted to due to training in karate and yoga. How in the world could a person get through a match holdin their breath without extreme fatigue and/or anxiety is beyond me.

I plan to keep breathing the way I always have but I was curious though how other pool players breathe.

Laura:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
I breathe while shooting the same way I breathe while shooting. :) Bullets or cue balls, it's all the same.

Set the shot up. Ready to shoot? Inhale. Exhale halfway. Stop. Hold breath for one heartbeat. Pull the trigger. Hold for one more heartbeat. Exhale.
 
What can I say, Larry, I'm a control freak. :)

Seriously, though, I consider breathing just as important as a smooth stroke. While you're breathing, your rib cage is expanding and contracting. The mounting points for the muscles which control your shoulder, hence the points upon which your cue is "mounted," are moving.

Try breathing without allowing your shoulders to move sometime. You'll see what I mean.

Generally speaking, I don't really think I'm disagreeing with Larry here. I'm sure he'd agree that a smooth, consistent stroke is a major requirement of a good all-around game. Part of the reason you want to practice so much is so that you hit the same shot the same way every time (assuming you want the same position).

For me, controlling my breathing is one of the factors that allow my stroke to be smooth. It's something I do subconsciously, since I've done so much shooting. Even when I'm in Dead Stroke, I shoot while holding my breath.
 
When the game gets more exciting, and your heart is pounding, try making just one deep breath before you go on your bridge. If it relaxes you while on the bridge, just concentrate on the balls. If your heart is still pounding, get up! Try stroking your cue rapidly with your bridge hand up in the air to let your adrenaline rush die down. Another deep breath, then get down on your bridge.

In shots where you don't seem to be physiologically bothered, it is better to make your mind breathe rather than let your breathing take a share off your concentration.
 
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Re: Re: How do you breathe?

fast larry said:
Ah so grasshopper, you already know answer to question so why do you ask it? You know you are walking once more into pit of paralysis by analysis quicksand, so why walk into pit? The minute you begin to think about this, you are on wrong path. The minute you post something like this, you just screw up 3000 pool players. Keep posting things like this, soon they have bounty on both of your ears. Wanted dead or alive posters will be in all DC pool rooms with your picture on them.

Stop thinking, play pool grasshopper. Turn off left monkey brain that is telling you this stuff. Do not listen to outside advise, follow what you know and what flows. Play naturally and by feel. Do you wonder how you breathe when you walk down the street and why should you, it happens automatically. Now walk and try to control it, see what happens, how natural do you feel now.

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Gimme a break Larry. I am not going from flower to flower. I do not even have an instructor now because they all want to fix something that is not broke.

The poster[wanted dead or alive] should have ray's picture on it. I was just playin, wasnt asking for advice. Ray came up to me and says I was breathin wrong. Now that you mention this, he has been doin this for a long time, sayin I wuz doing this or that wrong. Until my stroke was declared better'n his. Haha.

I will give a hint about how I breathe. It is called pranavayu. It is how we breathed in karate, only much easier, not a big force of breathe, just nice and easy. I would never have payed attention to it unless ray had said anything.

Livin with a major sharker is a good thing. Now I am immune to what people say to me in the pool hall. plus this person named fast has convinved me that natural is better, so that helps me ignore a lot of comments.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Laura
 
Whitewolf,

My breathing habits were formed back when I was a serious handgunner, and are generally accepted within that discipline as the best way to do precisely the same thing every_single_time, in order to get the bullet to the ecaxt same place on each shot. An imperceptible difference in your form between two shots is multiplied a hundredfold on a 10" target 200 yerds away.

I theorize that the partial expansion of your lungs helps to provide a sturdier rest for the weapon, which weighs substantially more than a cue. I just carried the routine over when I started shooting pool again, and haven't really devoted much thought to it since.

Your words, however, carry some intuitive truth. I am most definitely going to give your suggestions a try. I'm on the cusp between a B game and an A game, and I'm willing to try whatever it takes to get over the hump.
 
I've been teaching my friend for about two months now. A guy came up to me one day and told me my friend is breathing wrong. To me it made no sense. How do you tell how she's breathing from watching across the poolhall?

It makes more sense to me to focus on developing a good rhythm rather than focusing on breathing. Having a good rhythm will probably result in good breathing. I have my friend working on developing a good pre-shot routine. Right now, she would take a few practice strokes but her final stroke comes so suddenly. I actually pause (like Alison Fisher) on my final stroke and I've had people tell me I need to breathe out and such or don't pause at all. Honestly I don't know how I'm breathing when I shoot but I focus on making my pre-shot routine consistent and stroking evenly on every shot.
 
fast larry said:
When you begin to mentally control facets of your swing, when you begin to think and control elements of it, especially more than one, one meaning something simple like a back and through thought, you will destroy all natural rhythm and co ordination. Do you think about what foot goes first when you walk, no, your mind does it for you. You do not have to control that.

Do I breathe correctly when I play and do I expel on impact, I probably do, but I do not want to know, I don't want to think about that, I want to see my swing as one thing, one continuous circle, it is all one piece. You want to break it down into little pieces and think of them. Left brain people do that, right brain people could care less. If you agree you must control your breathing then you must also agree with me you must control you grip pressure. Pick a player in your room that is better than you and you rarely if ever have beaten. Someone you now have an exact measure of his ability against yours, so if there is a change, you will see it. Somebody you play now and then.

Go up to him and say, you have the most beautiful grip I have seen, that is how I want to grip the cue. I am reading this book on how to grip and I am now totally confused. Can you help me? People love to help people and when you ask them that way they will. Now say, when you pull the cue back does your pressure stay the same, on impact do you grab the cue, does it slide in your fingers. How many fingers do you have on the cue holding it, 2-3-or 4, does your pinky touch or fly out, if it does, is it at an 30 degree angle from the stick like the book says or 45 degrees like hoppe used to do?

:D
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I loved this. WW is forever saying, 'I think I will shoot gripping fingers such and such' and I say 'dont tell me, I do not want to hear about it' or he tells me about his backswing pause, which anymore, I do not notice mine nor if I have one.

I know my grip is light and that is about all that I know about that. I know that my breathing is comfortable and the thought that a person could breathe 'wrong' never really occurred to me.

I have had to learn to do my own thing and realize that just because ray is a better player does not mean that he is doing it right and I am doing it wrong.

Laura
 
How do you breathe?


Fish breathe under water, right? So, when they jump out of the water do they hold there breathe? Either way they still make a splash.

Rick
 
Just breathe normal...IN and OUT...

One of the best "SHARK" techniques I ever saw...
two very good "road" players (names withheld for embarrassment reasons) met in Vegas. Playing a race to 9 for $100.
The losing player was behind 8 games to 6...the player ahead needed only the 6/7/8 and 9 to win the set when the player behind asked him. "Do you inhale or exhale when you shoot?"
The shooting player missed the next straight in ball by 6" and could never shoot another ball accurately for the remaining racks!!!
SO MUCH FOR THINKING ABOUT BREATHING WHEN YOU SHOOT!
 
I breathe through my yappinghole.

Regards,

Ken (sorry...couldn't resist.)
 
Originally posted by fast larry
Do I breathe correctly when I play and do I expel on impact, I probably do.
Click to expand...

That could get kind of messy...

Regards,

Ken (chooses to exhale.)
 
I don't think about breathing when I play other than taking deep breaths and pushing the air out hard when I'm tense. When I'm in the midst of shooting, breathing is the furthest thing from my mind. I've seen other top pros doing the same thing when they get tense, deep breaths and breathe out hard.
 
Now wait a minute Larry. I was just getting to like you a little! You're going way over the line now with that "America's Team" garbage. Everyone knows the 49ers are the "REAL DEAL". Were you hiding under a rock during the 90's or what? Did you see we beat Chicago 49 (you like that) to 7? Don't get me on your bad side now okay?
 
fast larry said:
Dear Ken, any body who's not a cowboys fan is a loser and a pussy. When I come to Dallas I sit in the sky box and watch American's team, and the hole in the roof is so God can watch them win as well...
Click to expand...

You obviously don't watch much football. They haven't won much lately and the last time they made the playoffs, my Cards sent them home losers. They have never recovered and it doesn't look like they are on the right track this season either.

Now, Cowboy fans will respond with claims of past SuperBowl Championships and that is true. But that is the past and just like you Mr. Guninger...you just seem to be stuck there.

But hey...at least the Cowboy's World Championships and unbroken records are legit and verifiable.

Regards,

Ken
 
Bluewolf said:
Dolphins are smarter than people anyway. And they sure act like it.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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Dolphins can't speak except for some rudimentary sounds, they can't build a fire, and they are unable to make or use tools. They can't read. They can learn how to do acrobatic manuevers in response to certain words and hand signals.

However, you are a professional IQ tester/evaluator. Please explain how you determined dophins were smarter than humans.
 
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